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Chris

Blown glass on SL1

Just tried running one of my SL1s (a good runner), had a derailment and an impressive fire and the sightglass (plastic) burst.

How easy is it to replace this?

Do I need rivets?  To be honest I haven't taken a look yet.  It is outside cooling down.

I made an exhaust regulator for it, and seem to have forgotten how to set it for a nice steady run!
rangerssteamtoys

I think the sight glass has screws. My Mamod SA1 has a sight glass that plastic, the holder is just screw on.
toxx

... sorry about the accident, Chris. I think a mate here on the forum replaced those rivets with screws.
MTA

'Victor' has screws, but he is an MSS loco.

Just checking my SL2 and SL3 it seems they have rivets.

I wouldn't know how to go about replacing them with screws, but what I do recommend is instead of replacing the broken sight glass with another plastic one just cut a microscope slide to the appropriate dimensions and use that instead
Chris

Ok, have just undone a couple of screws at the back and that is all there is to it.  Thought there might have been some rivets hiding behind there.

Will order a replacement from mamodevon.

Here is the little hole...
syrtismajor

Chris wrote:
Ok, have just undone a couple of screws at the back and that is all there is to it.  Thought there might have been some rivets hiding behind there.

Will order a replacement from mamodevon.

Here is the little hole...


Ah! Easy fix! Just be sure that you seat the new o-ring well and all should be fine. My SL2 had a dodgy sight glass when I bought it and the backplate was riveted on, that was a real pain to get right. At least with screws it should be an easy repair.
Goodluck!
Chris

Just been running my other SL1, "Arthur", without any dramas, so I am feeling happier now!

Cheers all.
Mamodman123

Any sight glasses with rivets I would consider using silicone otherwise it can get pretty nasty....  
Chris

This one just has a couple of screws so hopefully will be simple enough.

Have ordered a couple of new glasses (so will have a spare), and a few other bits from dream steam today, so should arrive next week with a bit of luck.

I'm still tempted to convert to gas, but then I am easily tempted.
CCairns

Here is a posting that I put up some time ago, explaining how I convert locomotive riveted back plates to becoming a screwed up option using 6BA screws & nuts.
Quote:
I have a suggestion as an alternative to using rivets to fit the sight glass mounting again.

This involves soldering in 2 x 6BA screws into the rivet holes to allow you to remove the sight glass mount easier when you need to replace the plastic glass again.

Sorry no photos but here is what I've done with the loco boilers which were riveted.

Take a cheesehead 6BA brass screw, lightly tin the threads near the top of the screw, put a piece of thread through the rivet hole and pull it back through the sight glass hole. Tie this to the end threads of the screw (opposite end to the head where you have tinned). Place screw into sight glass hole and use thread to pull it up into the rivet hole. Holding the threaded end of the screw solder around the rivet hole to hold this screw in place. Repeat on other side. Fit sight glass washer, plastic and mount using 6BA nuts.

It looks OK on the loco because these nuts are hidden in the cab, but of course would be more prominent on the end of the SP5 boiler.

Quote:
I'm still tempted to convert to gas, but then I am easily tempted.

It will not just be sight glass plastic failures you will get then, as the soft solder fillet on the bottom of a standard Mamod/MSS boiler does not like being heated by gas & will probably melt causing a leak. Gas burners work better with the silver soldered boilers.

(Graphic courtesy of Peter Longfils).
Chris

Thanks for that Chris.  Luckily I am also tempted by the boiler upgrade!  Am a bit reluctant to put a gas burner under an old mamod boiler.

Just how do I convince my wife??
alan2525

The silver soldered upgrade boiler from Dream Steam looks good, it comes with the regulator, safety valve, top up valve and steam pipe too for £99.99.

The PPS one is £100 just for the boiler itself.
CCairns

Only down side of the Dream Steam boiler, which affects the IP Eng & PPS boilers as well, is the sight glass tube actually suffers from air bubbles leading to inaccurate water levels. At least it is silver soldered so should be OK after boiling dry (been there, done that!).

Ironically the Mamod sight glass (& Wilesco as well) actually give you a very true water level.
Chris

Do you need to make any other modifications to fit the upgraded boilers?
CCairns

Have a look at Graham's posting here, as he fitted the Dream Steam boiler to an MSS loco - http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about10925.html

Basically you need to cut out the cab front to fit it in. And if you are fitting this boiler then 'O' ring pistons & a lubricator would really be needed as well to get the best out of it, and if money is OK some steel replacement wheels as well. Plus it needs a meths or gas burner to heat it up properly.

Wait a minute that sounds like an IP Jane. These have been going for about £200 2nd hand (we now have several Jane owners on this Forum), and I prefer the earlier IP Jane with the Cheddar Models boiler fitted (later ones have the boiler that is now sold by Dream Steam).
Chris

My locos are currently standard but with meths burners, upgraded safety valves and water top up valves.

I have made an exhaust regulator for one of them, which was working well.

Not sure whether to mess around with them or leave them as is.

At the moment I just have a loop of track that I lay out when I want to play with them, so no need to do anything to them for now I guess.  Might try and set up a more permanent loop of track, and might then decide to go for upgrades.

Here are a few reposts of old vids, you see they are no slouches...



Mamodman123

The main thing in my mind would be you bought the loco for whatever price you've bought this and that and you are considering putting a boiler that costs £100, thats more than the locos worth   Or just as much I guess....

I don't personally see a problem with using a gas burner with a normal mamod loco boiler, you won't melt the solder unless it runs dry, you run the risk of the same with meths and solid fuel even, just keep an eye on the water level and it will be ok. I did use gas with my loco for a while and nothing melted, this included a soldered pipe on the bottom of the boiler.....
CCairns

Quote:
you won't melt the solder unless it runs dry

Not in my experience, the solder seems to lift slightly from the boiler surface causing a steam leak. I've have a 2nd hand SL1K which had a Cheddar Models style gas burner which leaked from this soft soldered pipe (boiler still sitting in workshop awaiting repair), and similarly I've had a leak there in my MSS Saddle Tank (which was brand new and never boiled dry). It is very much a case of quality control as the Mamod (& I assume the MSS) method of building a boiler is to oven bake the parts using a solder paste. I guess that it depends how well the surface of the boiler has been prepared around that hole (if at all) and the flux content of the paste used.

Use of a gas burner also produces a much greater temperature, not just in the boiler, but the surrounding combustion chamber & bodywork, which will lead to an earlier failure of the sight glass plastic due to melting, particularly if it is fitted with the standard thin 'O' ring (plastic actually touches back surface of boiler and gets the shape of the cut out melted in).

As I posted above, if you are considering putting in the upgraded boiler, plus other upgrades, then a 2nd hand IP Jane is probably a more cost effective route. And if you do not like the open cab, PPS sell an optional cab assembly, including a roof panel.
Chris

I had been looking out for a second hand Jane or Janet but they never seemed to come up on ebay.

Anyway, for now this is just ponderings.  The main thing is to get the loco running again.

The new price for a Janet, by the time you add on the gas burner is just too much.

A couple of running locos is enough for me, so I might just wait it out for a Jane or Janet to come up for sale.
CCairns

Then you must have missed this one - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAP...sPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=018

Complete with tender, name plates, cab assembly & extra cab back. I already have 2 so did not overbid for this one, and got outbid.

The price of a new PPS Janet is probably why no-one on the Forum has one yet, although a few have indicated they would possibly like one.

You are lucky that both your Mamods are good runners, so as you say it is important to get them running again. If you do not already have them, I would recommend using the oval washer that is used for fitting the SP range of sight glass plastics. Gives a much better seal than the 'O' ring supplied with the loco sight glass plastic, and tends to keep the plastic off the surface of the boiler rear cut out. You find these oval washers in the spare packs that are sold by several traders, like this one - http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/1816_1_13368.html It has also been recommended to use the SP range sight glass plastic as this is thicker, but needs shaping to fit the boiler cut out. But I know that Graham-Jilly has still suffered a failure of one of those SP range sight glass plastics, which indirectly lead to the purchase of the replacement boiler.
Chris

Bits came from Dream Steam and my loco is up and running again.  Bit of practice with my crude exhaust regulator and it was chuffing very nicely around the track.    
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